So far, so good. But let’s distill the results a bit further. Men are more willing than women to check out a tech company’s site after seeing media placements, with nearly 1 in 5 saying they’ll visit a site the very first time they see an article. Sixteen percent will visit after seeing a company in the press 2-5 times. And nearly 1 in 4 will visit after seeing a company in the press 5-plus times. Women are a harder win. Forty one percent of American women will eventually visit a company’s site after repeated press appearances. Only 13 percent will visit after a single placement and another 11 percent will visit after seeing 2-5 stories appear.

In press responsiveness, Gen Xers and Millennials rule. Gen Xers (age 35-44) are most likely to visit a tech website after seeing just one story (24 percent). Twenty percent of Millennials (age 18-34) were most likely to visit a site after seeing the company in the news 2-5 times. Seniors (65-plus) were least likely to visit a site after seeing the company’s wares in the press. This makes sense, given that Millennials and Gen Xers are the heaviest readers of tech publications. Beyond tech, once a company breaks into the mainstream media, it becomes more likely that a wider customer audience will begin to appear.

The higher the income, the more likely the sale. By income, those who make $75K-$99K per year are most likely to visit a site the first time a product story posted (29 percent). But 40 percent of those who make $150K-plus, 29 percent of those who make $100K-$150K and 18 percent of those who make $50K-$75K said they would visit a site after seeing 2-5 pieces of press.

Locale matters, too. The Americans most likely to visit a company’s site after seeing a single placement are in the South (19 percent). In the Northeast, viewers require 2-5 placements (16 percent).

In all, the research shows what both small and large businesses should intuitively know: A successful media strategy requires consistent effort over an extended period of time. Not all press is created equal—even among niche-specific publications, the articles that serve business best are the ones that serve up comparative evaluations that the company in question is either winning or that correctly and meaningfully position the business and product among other offerings. Case study articles that show the product in action in a real-world setting—particularly in a way that tells the full story, complete with warts and wrinkles—are credible and useful to prospective consumers as well. In the digital age, press is also vital for establishing reputation and third-party validation. If you are absent from the industry’s conversations, you will lose valuable opportunities to engage and to sell—all important factors in the decisions of where and how to achieve your marketing goals.

I am an entrepreneur and communications expert from Salt Lake City and founder of SnappConner PR. I am the author of Beyond PR: Communicate Like A Champ In The Digital Age, available on Amazon. I am co-creator of Content University, which helps entrepreneurs and executives l...